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Day Four: Female Character Meme
Mar. 10th, 2011 03:15 pmDay Four: A female character you relate to: Jessica Jones
In a way, superhero comic books were my first fandom, from when I started reading them at 13 (the Greek editions, before moving on to the originals, dictionary in hand. I'm self-taught in English, and about 90% initially came from X-MEN comics leading to my occasionally creative use of grammar, though thankfully not to phonetic accent spelling). As much as I identified with some of the younger characters as a teen (Kitty Pride, Jubilee and Illyana Rasputin, to name a few), I never found a character when I recently reread them that just clicked for me.
Then a picked up Michael Bendis' Alias (no relation to the show, just a poor marketing decision). Alias' protagonist, Jessica Jones, is essentially a failed superheroine running her own P.I. Agency. Throughout the limited series, we get to see her solve cases, witness the disaster area that is her love life, and eventually get the full reveal of her backstory and what led her to this point in life. Unlike the more typical superhero, who tends to have a clear purpose and more traditionally heroic traits, Jessica is cynical, often reluctant and embodies the very essence of the traditional noir hero (rather than the “femme fatale” noir archetype). Despite possessing superpowers (and her origin story having some almost Mary Sue qualities in the way she's inserted into classic canon) her reactions seem, to me, very much like a normal person finding herself in bizarre circumstances- from feeling in over her head in several of her cases to discussing guys with Carol Danvers (and her vehement refusal to date someone named “Ant Man”), everything she does just feels authentic. The book was launched under Marvel's adult “Max” line, which means Jessica gets to smoke, drink, have casual sex and swear up a storm in every scene she's in, something rare in comic book female characters (or, indeed, any female characters not explicitly marked by the text as “bad” or “messed up”), which makes her very much rateable to me.
And by the end of the book, for all her flaws, pessimism and lack of that superhero je ne sais quoi, she manages to get herself out of her slump, confront her past and defeat her demons, and even ends up in a relationship with superhero Luke Cage (like it was ever going to be Ant Man!). I haven't been crazy about her storylines post-Alias, but I still cherish what I consider that piece of comic book perfection.
And for a bonus taste of the character, what happens when Jessica stumbles on a robbery at a convenience store (I realise the art is an acquired taste, but you can't beat the dialogue):
( Cut for very large images )
( Days 1-30 )
In a way, superhero comic books were my first fandom, from when I started reading them at 13 (the Greek editions, before moving on to the originals, dictionary in hand. I'm self-taught in English, and about 90% initially came from X-MEN comics leading to my occasionally creative use of grammar, though thankfully not to phonetic accent spelling). As much as I identified with some of the younger characters as a teen (Kitty Pride, Jubilee and Illyana Rasputin, to name a few), I never found a character when I recently reread them that just clicked for me.
Then a picked up Michael Bendis' Alias (no relation to the show, just a poor marketing decision). Alias' protagonist, Jessica Jones, is essentially a failed superheroine running her own P.I. Agency. Throughout the limited series, we get to see her solve cases, witness the disaster area that is her love life, and eventually get the full reveal of her backstory and what led her to this point in life. Unlike the more typical superhero, who tends to have a clear purpose and more traditionally heroic traits, Jessica is cynical, often reluctant and embodies the very essence of the traditional noir hero (rather than the “femme fatale” noir archetype). Despite possessing superpowers (and her origin story having some almost Mary Sue qualities in the way she's inserted into classic canon) her reactions seem, to me, very much like a normal person finding herself in bizarre circumstances- from feeling in over her head in several of her cases to discussing guys with Carol Danvers (and her vehement refusal to date someone named “Ant Man”), everything she does just feels authentic. The book was launched under Marvel's adult “Max” line, which means Jessica gets to smoke, drink, have casual sex and swear up a storm in every scene she's in, something rare in comic book female characters (or, indeed, any female characters not explicitly marked by the text as “bad” or “messed up”), which makes her very much rateable to me.
And by the end of the book, for all her flaws, pessimism and lack of that superhero je ne sais quoi, she manages to get herself out of her slump, confront her past and defeat her demons, and even ends up in a relationship with superhero Luke Cage (like it was ever going to be Ant Man!). I haven't been crazy about her storylines post-Alias, but I still cherish what I consider that piece of comic book perfection.
And for a bonus taste of the character, what happens when Jessica stumbles on a robbery at a convenience store (I realise the art is an acquired taste, but you can't beat the dialogue):
( Cut for very large images )
( Days 1-30 )